Chelsea Manning intends to run for the U.S. Senate in Maryland, returning the transgender former soldier to the spotlight after her conviction for leaking classified documents and her early release from military prison.

Manning, 30, filed her statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, listing an apartment in North Bethesda as her address.

She is running as a Democrat and will likely challenge two-term Sen. Ben Cardin in the primary. The state's senior senator is an overwhelming favorite to win.

As Glenn Greenwald reported last year, "Anyone guilty of violating the prohibitions will face a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison."

The bill currently has 51 co-sponsors.

While the rest of the conservative media is bashing Manning as a traitor, this is the People's Republic of Maryland we're dealing with here. Compared to Cardin, I think we can all agree he'd be a huge step up!